More than 20 jobs go as Unipart Automotive Limited close four Midland branches

Unipart Automotive Limited closed branches in Wolverhampton, Brierley Hill and West Bromwich with another closed in Kidderminster after going into administration.

Twenty two jobs went from the four branches.

Headquartered in Solihull, the Unipart operated a network of 180 branches and distribution hubs trading under the Unipart Automotive, Partco Autoparts, and Express Factors brands. It employed 1,813 people.

In total 1,244 people have lost their jobs. A further 361 have transferred to other companies with immediate effect and 208 members of staff have been retained to assist the administrators.

Administrators had immediately sold part of the business in a joint deal to Andrew Page, one of the UK's largest distributors of car parts, workshop equipment, tools and diagnostics, and The Parts Alliance.

The deal will see Andrew Page acquire 21 branches and The Parts Alliance a total of 12. Branches in Walsall and Stafford are among these with both being taken over by Andrew Page.

Speaking about the job losses, Roger Maddison, Unite national officer for the automotive sector said: "This shock news is extremely concerning and will devastate the workforce. These job losses will hit the West Midlands hard, but will hurt communities across the country as Unipart Automotive is nationwide.

"It is very disappointing that the company has sought administration and not an alternative buyer. Administration plunges these 1,224 workers and their families into immediate financial insecurity, denying them redundancy payments and putting their pensions at risk.

"We will be seeking an urgent meeting with the administrator to ensure that the interests of the workforce are top of their considerations."

Mark Orton, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, added: "Despite intensive efforts over recent weeks, a sale of the whole Unipart Automotive business could not be reached, and a buyer could only be found for 33 of the sites on a going concern basis. Unfortunately, the business had been experiencing financial stress for a number of years, so the level of cash and further operational restructuring required to rescue a more substantial part of the business posed too much risk for most interested parties.

"Our team of employment specialists will be supporting all staff on completing redundancy forms and putting them in touch with job seeker services. We will now be reviewing what options are available for the remainder of the business, such as selling leasehold interests."

Unipart Automotive also directly supports over 700 independent, owner-operated garages through its Unipart Car Care Centre programme, in addition to having 19 franchisees.

These companies fall outside of the administration and will continue to operate as normal.